Comfort
by Lyra the Bard
Summary: Maedhros finds it hard to sleep one night and gets an unexpected visitor. Please read and review!


Title: Comfort

Author: dragonheartslayer2004

Rating: Teen I suppose for the slight violence that's mentioned. Or would this not be a T rated fic? Meh, gonna just put it as a T rated fic to be safe I guess.

Warnings: Cuteness I suppose on Elrond's part. Some adult themes and mature content but on Maedhros' part mainly.

Summary: Maedhros finds it hard to sleep one night and gets an unexpected visitor. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Silmarillion or any of its characters. It all belongs to its original creator, Tolkien. All I own is the plot, story, and any original characters that I insert into the story on a whim.

Authoress' Note: Felt like making a sort of cute story I suppose, or it's sad. Take your pick. And if you must know it's probably not the best story but college has started back up and yeah, I have to worry about that for now. I just felt the need to randomly pop out some writing so I hope you guys like it! Please forgive me if I made any non-canon errors and such but I was sort of tired when I wrote this, but here ya go. Read and review please!

* * *

He rolled, his body tossing and turning as he tried to sleep. Tried was the key word. No matter how much Maedhros rolled, whether it be on his stomach, side, or even his back, he could find no comfort in the soft velvet sheets. He groaned. At this rate he would never be able to get any sleep and it irked him. Part of him was also afraid. While the dreams did not come as often as they used to, he would every now and then dream of being back on Thangorodrim, hung on that useless pile of rubble that was called a mountain by his mere wrist alone. It made him cold inside and his heart skip a beat by just thinking about it and he frowned deeply, his auburn brows creasing considerably at the thoughts forming in his head by just mentioning the name of that accursed place in his own mind.

"Curse this," he hissed to himself as he sat up, the covers spewing around him before hanging limp around his waist as rubbed at his head with his only hand.

He looked down to see that the other was missing and it once again brought up memories of his time spent being under Morgoth's watching and hateful eyes. There were times he even felt pain sear through it only to look down and be reminded that he did not have a hand there. That it was gone and never to return. Since that time however, he had become a competent swordsman with his left hand instead and had perhaps become even better than when his right had still been there. But that was not the point, he thought, as he gently touched the end of the stub before roughly pulling away and hissing. It still hurt too apparently. Not often but the pain would sometimes come back.

The point though, was the fact that every time he looked down, it was a constant reminder, a nagging ache at the back of his mind. A cruel reminder of his time spent in Morgoth's clutches that he wanted to forget as he finally sighed and lay back down onto the bedspread before pulling up the covers over his bare chest. He had to get some sleep. He had promised Makalaurë that he would scout the land with him in the morning and thus resolved himself so that he could at least get a few hours of rest. He quickly turned on his left side, his back facing the doorway, and had only laid there for a few minutes before he heard the creak of a door being opened. He raised a brow as he watched the wall in front of him suddenly become bathed in a silvery glow and as a silhouette of a child appeared in its midst. He knew that it was one the twins that he and Makalaurë had taken in a year or two ago, but he was unsure of which one until he heard a small and tiny voice call quietly into the confines of his room.

"Maitimo? Uncle, are you there?"

Maedhros turned and rose up, suddenly seeing one of the young twins, this one being the last one he had expected to see. There, standing in the doorway, was Elrond, the older of the two. He was wearing overly large sleeping attire, the sleeves a bit too long to which the Fëanorian could only guess he had managed to snag off of his younger brother, who was oddly enough the taller of the two He also had a small stuffed animal, a bear by the look of it, wrapped in his tiny arms. His slightly longer than shoulder length hair was disheveled from what Maedhros could only assume was from lack of sleep and that his blue-grey eyes were rather puffy, the sclera red and the flesh around his eyes a deep color though Maedhros couldn't tell how dark it really was. Darkness only tended to make things darker but he said nothing for a few seconds as the young boy stepped forward, past the threshold and into the room, the silvery light of Tilion still playing upon his small and delicate features.

"What is it, Elrond?" he asked softly, not wanting to suddenly frighten the young boy as he watched Elrond take another cautious step into the room. He had never been the best when it came to being around children. His brother was by far the better parental figure than he could ever hope to be.

It still puzzled him as to why Elrond would be the one to come to his room so late into the night. He had figured that Elros would have, being as he was younger than Elrond, but Maedhros did not question it as he fully sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his sleeping pants rustling with movement. He was used to it in an odd way. It brought up old memories seeing Elrond walk in so late and into his room, his eyes puffy from lack of sleep and tears. Both Pityafinwë and Telufinwë used to always come into his room when they had been younger, and like a dutiful and loving brother, Maedhros allowed them both to sleep in his room with him until they were old enough to sleep in their own or without him being near. His thoughts were broken however when he heard the little elf speak, his voice sounding as if it would crack if he spoke any louder, his voice being nearly a whisper that even Maedhros had to strain to hear it.

"Uncle Maitimo…" Elrond said quietly as he approached, his small and slender hand folded in one another and to his chest. "Can I…can I sleep here with you?"

Maedhros' brow rose at the question and he leaned forward a bit as the child finally stepped within the light so that he could see him better, his eyes still puffy and wet from tears. "Why is it that you want to sleep here when you could go to Uncle Makalaurë?" he asked, his deep timbre carrying through the air and in the room with ease as he watched Elrond bow his head slightly, most likely in embarrassment, and fiddle with a piece of his sleeping gown. It took a few seconds as Elrond squirmed under Maedhros' fiery gaze but he eventually looked back up to where gray met gray.

"I had a nightmare…and I…I just wanted to come in here and sleep," he said before going right back to what he was doing before as he began to fiddle with the white night shirt on his person.

Maedhros sighed. _"So have I little one, so have I,"_ he thought to himself as he took a glance at his missing hand, quite surprised that Elrond was not being perturbed by it in the least as another old memory of hanging from the precipice of those dreadful mountains filled his mind before disappearing just as quickly as he looked down at the small child. He was silent for a time until he decided to speak, trying to form his words carefully since sleep was still making his mind hazy. He didn't want to slip up and say the wrong thing, such as scaring the young boy for example so he smiled lightly, the corners of his lips curving into a soft smile. He then lifted up the covers a bit, enough that Elrond could see and beckoned him forth.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. You can sleep here tonight," Maedhros said as he watched Elrond's eyes brighten, their dark grey depths literally shining in the moonlight.

Maedhros waited for a few seconds before he watched Elrond take a few cautious steps forward, as if he were afraid that he would lash out at him, but Maedhros beckoned the boy and mouthed to him to not worry. He watched as Elrond hugged the makeshift bear tighter to his scrawny chest and part of him mused as to whether Makalaurë had made it himself. Elrond then shuffled forward, closing the distance between himself and the edge of the bed in a few quick strides, the echo of his feet slapping against the floor, following each step.

Satisfied as the young elf pulled up and onto the free side of the bed, Maedhros quickly covered the small child with his left hand and hid his right underneath the pillow. Despite that it had been a couple of years since the twins had been living with him and his brother, he believed that they most likely found his disfigurement unnerving and disgusting at most. A few minutes passed as he felt Elrond cuddle against his chest, seeking warmth and Maedhros, unsure of how to react but wanting to comfort the child, wrapped his good arm around the small boy and began to doze off, sleep nearly overtaking him. Just as he was on the verge of sweet unconsciousness, Elrond spoke, awakening him as his dark eyes snapped open.

"Uncle Maitimo?" Elrond asked, his own grey eyes shining with curiosity as he took note that Maedhros had pressed his disfigured arm under the crook of the pillow. "How did you lose your hand?"

Maedhros froze and his eyes widened for a split second before returning to their usual slanted stance. His mind whirled. How was he to explain this to Elrond, who was a young child nonetheless? His breath hitched as it brought with it painful memories bleeding to the surface of his mind as he quickly shut his eyes, hoping that it would somehow block them, but with no avail he sighed and instead looked back to the young Elrond who was waiting rather expectantly for an answer.

"Elrond…" He stopped short unsure of what to say but eventually continued his sentence. Perhaps if he actually told him, it would make him feel better about the whole event and also answer the young boy's question. "It happened a long time ago, before you were born. I lost it when the Black Enemy captured me. However, I escaped, with the help of my cousin, Fingon and he had to cut my hand in order to release me." He elaborated no further, not wanting to go into the details of those pitiful and remorseless years he had hung there, helpless and forlorn.

Elrond remained silent for a few minutes and Maedhros feared that perhaps he had said the wrong thing or should not have told him at all as he looked down at the smaller elf, feeling the boy crush against him and the material of his toy digging into his bare chest. Neither said anything for what seemed to him to be an eternity before the young Elrond spoke, his soft voice carrying on the wind like a light breeze. Maedhros eventually chanced a look and could see that Elrond was now fast asleep, not a care in the world written upon his soft face as if the story from earlier hadn't affected him and it made the older elf smile as he looked down upon him. At least Elrond could sleep, blissfully unaware of the thoughts that dogged Maedhros as he lay there for a few moments, pushing back the painful memories of the past as he delved into this comforting moment, feeling the child's soft breathing tickle his neck.

With that in mind, Maedhros began to grow tired once more as he hugged the boy to his chest and wrapped the sheets around them both, still feeling the tickling sensation of the stuff toy's cotton and cloth rub against his chest but he said nothing as his eyes grew heavier with each passing second. Elrond found comfort in him and with that in mind he smiled, his lip curving into a gentle smile as he laid his head back down on his pillow, feeling the softness press against his rough cheek. He found comfort in it too, he discovered, as he lay there, pushing back the final dregs of the old memories as his eyelids began to close. Who knew that he could find comfort in such a small child who seemed so peaceful and kind to those around him but himself was also dogged by dreams. Dreams that were filled with fire and pain just like that of Maedhros. The older elf didn't doubt that there was a part of Elrond that despised him, perhaps hated him even, for what he had done to Elwing and her people. He shook it away, not wanting to think of such memories, comforted that at least Elrond now trusted him and that he too, was not immune to grief. He blinked as he felt Elrond move, the stuffed animal snuggled between them as Maedhros' eyes soon drooped, bringing him closer to the world of sleep. He could only hope that it would be a dreamless and far more peaceful sleep than he had just moments ago as he closed his eyelids and allowed it to claim him.


End file.
